Spirit AeroSystems broke ground on its state-of-the-art Global Digital Logistics Center that will increase storage capacity and part retrieval efficiency at its campus in Wichita, Kansas.

The new 150,000 square foot facility is being funded through a collaboration agreement between Spirit, the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County.

When complete, the 70-foot-tall building will serve as a smart distribution center to better manage the rapid storage and retrieval of parts used in the assembly of large aerostructures. The new state-of-the-art facility will store and distribute tens of thousands of self-manufactured and purchased parts and subassemblies to support Spirit's growing business.

The Global Digital Logistics Center is designed to decrease flow time, improve inventory accuracy and increase storage capacity for Spirit's Wichita operations. The company currently fabricates about 38,000 unique parts daily at its Wichitasite in addition to more than 100,000 unique parts sourced from suppliers.

"The Global Digital Logistics Center supports our strategy to improve production flow time by more accurately managing inventory and ensuring the right parts are at the right place at the right time," said Spirit President & CEO Tom Gentile.

"As we increase production rates and expand our operations in defense and fabrication, we will improve and expand our capacity to rapidly build complex aerostructures for high-rate production programs at a competitive cost. We are grateful to the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County for their collaboration with us on this expansion project,” he added.

The new logistics center is expected to be complete in early 2019 and will utilize a smart storage and retrieval system with racks nearly 70 feet tall. Spirit will consolidate 500,000 square feet in three logistics buildings into the new logistics center by taking advantage of vertical space. The repurposed space allows for expansion of fabrication and manufacturing support areas as well as the creation of a Raw Material Cutting Center of Excellence for Spirit and its regional suppliers.

"Deploying the latest technology for parts management and retrieval will help our teams increase their productivity," said Spirit Senior Vice President of Fabrication and Supply Chain Ron Rabe. "This new logistics center will allow us to inventory millions of parts and finished goods and distribute them faster with greater accuracy. We have amazing employees who fabricate and assemble large aerospace structures, and this new Global Digital Logistics Center will enable our teams to achieve even greater efficiencies."